Page 49 of Livewire Witch

Loosey goosey, no big deal. Just a little gossip among friends.

Luckily, we have a vague idea of what he looks like, thanks to the part of Fabian’s memory that has survived the vamp’s influence.

Hey guys, have you heard about that shaven-headed, scarred vamp that’s going around with tainted blood?

Super chill.

“Anything going on in their heads that’s more interesting than the shit that’s coming out of their mouths?”Z asks drily.

I shake my head and he huffs softly and readjusts his massive frame, rubbing his injured leg in smooth circles, like he’s trying to ease an ache.

I then decide to change tack slightly. Searching for the one with the lowest mental shields and sending them a nudge to talk about the vamp. Just a subtle hint, mind. I wasn’t sure whether vamps would be susceptible to compulsion, but it seems like they are just as affected as anyone else.

I freeze when one of them begins to speak. “Hey, you guys. Any of you tried that new dating app Eternal?”

Dammit.

No dice.

“Time to move on? There seem to be more of them downstairs,”I mentally ask Z. We can’t stay up here all day and it seems as good a time as any to stretch our legs.

He nods and sends out a rumble of thunder to disguise the sounds of our footsteps as we make our way down to the ground floor. There, we crouch, hidden by an overflowing dumpster.

I can sense that there are at least a couple of vampires inside. And, if I concentrate hard enough, I can hear their thoughts.

There’s a small window and I summon my glamor magic to keep us both unnoticeable as we peek inside and then drop to the ground.

Inside, there are just a couple of vamps and their thoughts are just as boring as the ones upstairs.

“I feel like we suck at this whole stake out shit,”Zeph grumbles.

I stifle a snort. Pretty sure this is the first time Z’s done anything like this. It’s clear he doesn’t realize quite how boring and unproductive most ‘stake outs’ are. Most of it’s just sitting around and waiting for your ass to get numb, trying to move as little as possible.

“Where’s Claudia?” one vamp asks.

Nothing interesting there, nothing to spike our attention. My stomach rumbles and I shift slightly. I need to pee.

“Maybe we can take a break after this,”I say. “Grab something to eat and take a bathroom break.”

Zeph just nods, rubbing at his leg again. Yeah, we definitely need a break from all the crouching and sitting at awkward angles. It’s not going to be his barely healed broken leg any good at all.

“Basement. Simpson’s coming by soon and they wanted to keep away from eager ears,” one vamp replies.

My eyes flick up to meet Z’s gaze and see that he’s raising his eyebrows questioningly already.

There’s a basement.

And even more vamps.

“But where the hell’s the entrance to the basement? You think we can get down there from here?”

“I hope so. There’s no way I want to go inside this building.”The last thing we need is to get stuck inside a vampire nest, and this one in particular seems pretty grotty. I don’t know how people with enhanced senses can live like slobs, but maybe after a while, even sensitive noses go nose blind.

“Me neither, Little Witch.”

I draw more of my glamor magic, ensuring it’s covering Zeph too as we make our way around the side of the building. We find an air conditioning chute that’s barely big enough for us both to fit into.

Somehow we both squeeze inside, close enough to hear the words of the people in the basement. I can’t see all that much unless I’m craning my neck painfully toward the vents that feed into the room, but summoning a little of my blood magic, I can sense that there are three of them inside. All with the telltale slow heartbeats of vampires.

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